Four House Democrats sent letters Thursday to top wireless carriers...

are increasingly including administrative, recovery, or service fees on consumer’s high-speed Internet and telephone bills. “These ‘below-the-line’ fees are generating hundreds of millions of dollars for U.S. communications companies” which may “allow companies to advertise deceptively low rates to the public, only to pile on additional, unexpected fees at the end of the month,” the letters said. The letters were sent to AT&T, AT&T Mobility, CenturyLink, Sprint, T-Mobile US, Verizon Communications and Verizon Wireless. Each company was asked specific questions about how they assess administrative, recovery, service or change fees, what fee information they present to customers at the point of sale, and what notification procedures they offer before new fees appear on consumers’ bills, among other questions. A Sprint spokesman said the company “agrees that transparency and disclosure in the marketplace ensures that consumers are able to accurately compare competing services and choose the provider that best meets their needs. That’s why Sprint fully discloses all surcharges and fees on its customers’ invoices and on Sprint.com.” Spokesmen from Verizon and AT&T said they had received the letter and would respond to the questions asked. The remaining companies had no comment. The letters were authored by House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo of California, Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Jim Matheson of Utah. Free Press Action Fund Policy Director Matt Wood said: “These hidden and confusing fees can add up to hundreds of dollars a year for people already struggling to afford basic communications services -- and they add up to billions of dollars a year in revenues for the companies.” Public Knowledge Vice President-Government Affairs Christopher Lewis in a news release commended the lawmakers for “asking tough questions that consumers have every month when they are faced with surprise fees on their phone and broadband bills.” “Your monthly bill shouldn’t be a crap shoot. Consumers expect to pay for communication services, but they cannot make informed choices between providers if they are advertised one price and then billed another.” Delara Derakhshani, policy counsel for Consumers Union, said the group looks forward to hearing the companies’ responses, in a separate news release. “Too often, consumers are quoted one price for their service, only to face a higher bill riddled with additional vague or confusing fees,” she said. “Consumers deserve to know exactly what they're paying for. That means being informed of any fees up front, before they receive their first bill.” “Our carriers do an excellent job in disclosing taxes, fees, and other charges to consumers, as they are committed to do under the terms of the CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service,” said Jot Carpenter, CTIA vice president-government affairs, in reaction to the letter. “Additionally, it is important for the Members who signed this letter to remember that the industry committed nearly two years ago to deliver usage alerts to customers to inform them when they might be reaching voice, text or data limits, or roaming internationally. By April of this year, each of the carriers that agreed to deliver usage alerts has met its usage alert commitments."